Patrick McHenry, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee (NC-10), and French Hill, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion (AR-02), have issued a statement lauding the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). This announcement arrives over a decade after the cryptocurrency industry first sought approval for Bitcoin ETFs.
"Today’s spot Bitcoin ETF approvals mark a historic milestone for the future of the digital asset ecosystem in the United States," said the lawmakers in a statement, as per a press release. "While legislation to provide clarity and certainty for digital assets remains necessary, the steps taken today are a significant improvement over the SEC’s track record of regulation by enforcement. We are pleased that investors and our markets will finally be afforded greater access to this generational technology. We remain committed to enhancing consumer protection in the digital asset markets through comprehensive market structure and payment stablecoin legislation."
According to an announcement made by SEC Chair Gary Gensler on January 10th, which was shared on the SEC's website, the Commission has approved the listing and trading of multiple spot Bitcoin ETF shares. Gensler stated that between 2018 and 2023, more than twenty Bitcoin ETF proposals were rejected by the SEC. However, following an appellate court's ruling that deemed insufficient explanation was provided by the Commission for denying Grayscale's application, it was compelled to reconsider.
"Importantly, today’s Commission action is cabined to ETPs holding one non-security commodity, bitcoin," Gensler stated. "It should in no way signal the Commission’s willingness to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities. Nor does the approval signal anything about the Commission’s views as to the status of other crypto assets under the federal securities laws or about the current state of non-compliance of certain crypto asset market participants with the federal securities laws. As I’ve said in the past, and without prejudging any one crypto asset, the vast majority of crypto assets are investment contracts and thus subject to the federal securities laws."
Gensler also clarified that managers of Bitcoin ETFs will be required to provide disclosures about these products, which will be traded on nationally registered securities exchanges. He specified that while the SEC has approved the trading of Bitcoin ETFs, it does not "approve or endorse" Bitcoin itself.
The House Financial Services Committee is responsible for overseeing matters related to the economy, banking industry, monetary policy, and combatting terror financing as per its website. The committee supervises agencies including the Federal Reserve, the SEC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Import-Export Bank. It also oversees American capital markets and currency production.
